Sanitary shield.



WITNESSES 2J1: f-G'LKBPPER: SANITARY SHIELD. APPLIOAIION'HLED APR. 10, 1913.

Patented July 7, 19M

momvfrs JULIA. C. EFFEE, OF ATLANTIC CITY, JERSEY.

SANITARY SHIELD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 7,. acre.

Application filled April 19, 1913. Serifil No. 762,199.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JULIA C. Knrrnn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Atlantic City, in the county of Atlantic and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sanitary Shields, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in sanitary shields, and has for its object to provide a shield of the character specified, having a receptacle for receiving'discharges, and having means for supporting the receptacle in proper position. and for permitting the said support'and the means for connecting the support to the receptacle to be ad'usted to fit the body of the wearer, wherein tie receptacle may be easily cleaned, and wherein the receptacle is so shaped that it cannot become folded or rolled, but will always remain open and in proper shape to receive and hold all of the discharges.

In the drawings :'-Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved shield," a-nd Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The present embodiment of the invention comprises a belt consisting of sections 1 and 2, each of the said sections having at one of its ends a buckle 3, secured to the said end by passing the end of the section through the buckle and doubling the end back upon the body of the strip as indicated at 4, and securing the said end to the body by stitching or any other suitable manner. Depending straps 5 are secured to the section 1 of the belt near the center thereof in any suitable manner, as. forinstance, by lapping the ends of the straps on to the belt section, and securing them in place by stitching or in any other suitable manner. Similar straps 6 are secured to the section 2 of the belt at approximately the center thereof. The straps 6 are of greater length than the straps 5, and the section 2 of the belt is designed to be placed at the front of the body of the wearer.

The shield proper is a substantially boatshaped structure, being formed from three sections. The belt sections 12 and the straps 5 and 6 may be of any suitable material, as for instance, non-elastic. webbing, but the shield proper is preferably made from rubber lined cloth. The said shield proper is formed by a central strip 7, and lateral strips 8 and 8. Each of the lateral strips has its free edge provided with a hem 9, and the inner edges of the strips are secured to the central strip 7. As will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 2, the inner edges of the strips 8 and 8 are lapped upon the adjacent side edges of the strips 7 as indicated at 10 in Fig. 2, and the said lapping edges are then secured together by stitching or in any othersuitable manner. The central strip 7 is reduced in width toward its ends, the said reduction being gradual, and

each end of the shield proper is provided w1th longitudinally extending tabs -ll and 12 respectively, the tabs 11 being at the front of the shield and the tabs 12 at the rear. Buckles 13 are connected Witheach of the tabs 11 and 12, and the said tabs 11 and 12 are formed in the present instance from strips of elastic webbing, each strip being passed through the buckle and having its ends sewed to the shield. The said ends of the tabs are lapped on the outer face of the surface of the shield, and preferably reinforcing strips 14 of tape are stitched to the said ends of the shield outside of the attachment of the ends of the tabs.

At the back or rear end of the shield proper, the lateral strips'are folded over upon the inner face of the central strip, as indicated at 15, in Fi 2, and the said lapped portions are stitc ed or otherwise secured to the said central strip, to make the said rear end of lesser width. At the front end of the shield the side strips are also folded over upon the central strip slightly,

and are held in place by the reinforcing tape the shield proper and the manner of connectingl the ends thereof to each other, insures t at the upper free edges of the strips will always remain in spaced relation. The usual defect in such devices is their tend-r ency to become folded and matted, so that they lose their character of a receptacle, becoming merely a bundle or roll of cloth. With the present construction, the device is always a receptacle, and cannot become rolled together or folded together, since the ends are of suflicient rigidity to hold the mouth of the rece tacle in open, osition.

Before the rein orcing tapes 1 are placed at the ends of the shield and on the outer surface thereof, the connected ends of the strips 7, 8 and 8 are folded out upon the outer face of the shield in the form of a hem. This fold is formed by stitching the connected ends of the strips to the side edge of the adjacent reinforcing tape. The said tape is then folded out upon the outer surface of the shield, and the free edge is stitched to the shield as are also the ends of the tape.

In use, the belt 1- 2 may be adjusted to fit around the waist of the wearer. The free end of each section is engaged with the buckle of the other section, and the said ends are drawn throu h the buckles until the belt is suflicientl tig t. The shield is arranged in place a ter which it is adjusted to a proper fitting by means of the depending straps 5 and 6. The said straps are spaced sufiiciently far apart to fit in the groins'at each side, and in such position that they do not chafe the body of the wearer. The straps 5 are also spaced for comfort.

With the improved shield in place the clothing of the wearer cannot become soiled, since all dischar es are received in the shield. If desire absorbent cotton or absorbent cloth may be arranged withinthe receptacle of the shield for receiving and absorbing the discharges. The only portion of the shield that can become soiled, namely,

the interior of the shield proper, may be prising a receptacle composed of a central and lateral strips, the strips gradually decreasing in Width toward their ends, the inner edges of the lateral strips being secured to the adjacent side edges of the central strip, said lateral strips at each end of the said receptacle being folded in upon the upper face of the central strip and secured thereto, and tabs connected with each end of the said receptacle. 1 I

JULIA C. KEFFER. Witnesses:

C. E. TRAINER, SOLON C. KEMUN. 

